1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates generally to a method and an apparatus for inactivating parasites or microorganisms in a medium such as soil, and more specifically to inactivate nematodes.
2.Background
Parasites such as plant-parasitic nematodes are recognized as one of the greatest threats to crops. Plant-parasitic nematodes cause approximately eighty billion dollars of crop loss in the world each year by reducing the quality and quantity of crop yield. Nematodes can attack almost every part of the plant including roots, stems, leaves, fruits and seeds. Nematodes are difficult to control because they are capable of living in almost any environment.
In order to control nematodes, it is a common practice to apply nematicides (i.e., pesticides used to destroy nematodes). However, such pesticides have an adverse effect on the human health and the environment. One problem associated with pesticides is that the pesticides can travel through the soil and enter the ground water. Typically, farmers who use the pesticides use the water as their sole source of drinking water. Since many pesticides are considered carcinogenic, the farmers and their families are placing their health at risk.
Moreover, many consumers are seeking organically grown (i.e., grown without pesticides) vegetables, fruits and grains. For these reasons, many farmers are trying to find other means in which to eliminate nematodes that do not affect human health and the environment. It is therefore desirable to have a method that destroys nematodes without the use of pesticides. Additionally, pesticides, for example methylbromide, while removing up to 100% of the active nematodes, typically do not remove 100% of the nematode eggs.
A method is disclosed in which a contaminated material is ground in a pulverizing mill exposing the contaminated material to an alternating mechanical energy field to inactivate parasites or microorganisms. Moreover, an oscillating stress and pressure amplitudes is created in a macrosonic field of mechanical energy impact. Other features and advantages will be apparent from the accompanying drawings and from the detailed description that follows below.